WB-Koester Construction

DELIVERING PROJECTS SAFELY AND ON SCHEDULE ARE PRIORITIES FOR THIS EVANSVILLE COMPANY

January 12, 2017

“We know what we’re getting with Komatsu equipment: a top-of-the-line machine that we can rely on every day”

Change is a constant for construction
companies. Vice President of WB-Koester
Construction, Greg Head has seen his excavation
and grading company go through many phases.
As an independent company in the early 1990s,
the main focus was on DOT and government
contracts that took it across the country. From
there, it focused on private, regionally located
work and eventually the firm found its niche in
the energy sector. No matter the focus, Head says
one consistent element of the assignments was
their size – large.

“Large-volume projects have always been
our preference,” related Head. “We have an
experienced workforce and a fairly significant
fleet of equipment. We’ve been doing large,
fast-track jobs for a long time, so we know how to
gear up and take care of customers’ needs.”

Successfully completing complex dirt
contracting projects helped Evansville-based
Koester Contracting build its reputation. In 2005,
Weddle Bros. Construction Co., Inc., a general
contractor with offices in Bloomington and
Evansville, purchased Koester Contracting and
formed WB-Koester Construction. While the
name changed, a knack for finishing big contracts
on schedule has remained.

“The association with Weddle Bros. has been
great; all of us have benefitted from it,” shared
Head. “They had 70 years of experience and
an excellent reputation in this industry, and we
helped them expand their company and become
more diversified. As always, we still concentrate
on delivering quality mass-grading jobs for our
customers.”

Today, the company specializes in regional
private-sector jobs ranging in size from $1 million
to $20 million, with its sweet spot in the $2 million
to $10 million range. WB-Koester has 25 full-time
employees and uses craft labor during peak times
throughout the year. Head says that the firm’s
quality reputation has helped build its client list.

“A lot of our time is spent on big plants, so that
may be the only thing a customer does for a long
time,” said Head. “The best compliment we can
get is for a customer to see our work and ask us to
stay longer and finish other aspects of the project.
We also have a lot of success from word-of-mouth
advertising. Most of the time, customers know
about us and have heard good things, which
definitely helps.”

The bigger, the better

Koester Contracting already had several
significant projects under its belt before joining
the Weddle Bros. team. It did the site work for
a Toyota plant in the Evansville area, as well
as the site work for AK Steel that required the
excavation of four million yards of dirt.

“It was a significant job for us,” recalled Head.
“We were on the site for approximately six
months to get the south runway built, opened
and operating.”

Another noteworthy opportunity for the
company was with Indianapolis Power & Light
in Martinsville. WB-Koester was originally
contracted to perform site work for the
30-acre project, but it remained on the job after
earning additional assignments.

“This is an example of a customer rewarding us
with more work on another phase,” Head added.
“We started there in April 2015 and completed
the original contract work in September 2015, but
our customer has continued to assign additional
work, an indication of their satisfaction with our
performance. We graded the site, removed a
leach field, put up a 12-acre staging area for the
construction of the plant, as well as installed a
circulating pipe system that had 84-inch, reinforced
concrete pipe.”

The company was also part of a two-year
effort at Prairie State Energy in Marissa, Illinois, a
coal-fired power plant that involved the excavation
of two millions yards of dirt.

Safety first

A commitment to safety at all times is priority
number one for WB-Koester, and it starts at the top.

“With many of our customers, you must have a
good safety record in order to be involved in their
projects,” explained Head. “We’ve developed
and maintained a safety culture that values our
employees and establishes good work practices.”

The company takes several measures to maintain
a strong safety culture. It holds daily briefings for
its crews, a committee conducts monthly jobsite
visits to evaluate safety practices, and the firm
employs a full-time safety director.

“It’s more than lip service, we’re committed to
safety,” promised Head. “We tell our employees
that we aren’t simply concerned with how many
loads they have completed, but that they focus on
safe practices so they can go home healthy to their
families every night.”

Production and convenience

WB-Koester Construction has amassed a sizable
fleet of equipment to fulfill those bigger contracts
throughout the years. Komatsu excavators from
Brandeis Machinery & Supply Company and Sales
Rep Dustin Olander are a staple of the company’s
fleet. WB-Koester has 12 Komatsu excavators
ranging in size from a PC78LC to a PC400LC.

“When our operators are going out on a job, they
ask for the Komatsu excavators,” noted Equipment
Manager Doug Vinnedge. “We know what we’re
getting with Komatsu equipment: a top-of-the-line
machine that we can rely on every day.”

The newest additions to the fleet are a PC290LC
WB-Koester purchased in early 2016 and a
PC350LC it acquired in 2015. Both continue to live
up to the company’s expectations.

“The PC290 is a great machine,” noted Vinnedge.
“It’s very fast, and it has a larger bottom, so the
machine is extremely smooth. We’ve primarily
used it to load trucks, and even when watching it
from a distance, you can tell how much stability it
has. The PC350 has also been outstanding. We’ve
put nearly 2,000 hours on this excavator; it’s one
of our most utilized machines.”

Another favorite of WB-Koester is its
PC400LC-8, which the company purchased with
2,000 hours on it. This machine is primarily used
for loading articulated trucks.

“Pairing the PC400 with a 40-ton truck has
been an ideal combination for us,” reported
Vinnedge. “The PC400 has been such a solid
machine. We were already big fans of Komatsu
excavators, but the way the PC400 operated –
even with 2,000 hours on it – led to us purchasing
the PC350 and PC290.”

The company also rents several machines
from Brandeis’ Evansville branch, which is
conveniently located less than a mile from
WB-Koester’s headquarters.

“They’re just a stone’s throw from us, but we
continue to do business with Brandeis because
of their excellent service, not just their location,”
declared Head. “We’ve rented all types of
machines – excavators, dozers, articulated trucks
and power booms – and Brandeis is great about
making sure we have what we need.”

With its expansive fleet of purchased and
rented equipment, KOMTRAX, Komatsu’s
telematics system, has proven its value for
WB-Koester.

“We try to use any tool offered to improve
efficiency,” said Vinnedge. “KOMTRAX is the
most user-friendly. If we need to locate a machine
or pull up a code, it only takes a couple of
seconds, and we have our answer.”

Continued quality

When it comes to the future, WB-Koester
is focused on delivering quality results to its
customers. By doing that, Head believes the
company will continue to enjoy the same steady
growth it has experienced through the years.

“Our goal has always been to produce quality
and safe work instead of focusing on growth,”
he said. “Of course, we want to grow, but we
have never had aggressive goals regarding our
size. We are more concerned with delivering
high-quality results.”

For now, WB-Koester will continue to
pursue challenging projects, especially in the
energy sector.

“I think there are still many opportunities in
the power industry,” predicted Head. “Coal
has taken some hits lately, but we have strong
relationships, and there are still good possibilities
for us in that area.”